Paul Martin: My Money

Housewives around the country will be heartbroken when TV presenter Paul Martin, 47, marries BBC production co-ordinator Charlotte Godfrey in September.

Paul presents the popular BBC2 antiques show Flog It! which goes out on Tuesdays. He lives in Wiltshire with two dogs and four retired racehorses. In September, his first book, Paul Martin's Britain, will be published. LIZ PHILLIPS finds out if he has an eye for money.

HOW MUCH WAS IN YOUR FIRST WAGE PACKET?

As A schoolboy, I worked two hours a day collecting mooring fees from boats in the harbour in Falmouth, Cornwall, where I grew up. When the summer holidays came, I was made a petrol pump attendant with a difference. The pump was on a floating pontoon. That was a good summer holiday job. I got a fantastic tan and spent most of my time listening to music. I earned £16 a day.

My first proper job was as a set builder in the props department at Pinewood Studios. The first film I worked on was Santa Claus: The Movie with Dudley Moore. I got £360 a week, which was not bad considering I was only 23.

HOW MUCH DID YOU PAY FOR YOUR FIRST HOME?

While I was at Pinewood, I bought a two-bedroom garden flat in Richmond for £24,000. It was run down. Squatters had lived in it and they set fire to it before they left. I got a grant from the council to put it right. A year later, it was valued at £60,000 even though I hadn't put a kitchen in yet, so I sold it. That got me started on the property ladder. I'm now doing up an old three-bedroom cottage just outside Devizes, in Wiltshire. It is in 30 acres with an arboretum round it. I've built stables for my four horses and I'm planning an extension.

WHAT WAS YOUR BEST FINANCIAL MOVE?

Doing up houses and buying vintage cars. I treat properties like antiques. I restore the original features, decorate them in classic colours and create a bit of theatre. That puts the value up because you're selling a lifestyle. I also had a passion for classic cars in my mid-20s and 30s. My best buy was a Speedster 356 convertible Porsche I bought for £18,000.

I sold it two years later for £32,000 to a fashion director I lent it to for a shoot. It was immaculate. It was jet-black with a tan mohair hood. It looked like Kelly McGillis's car in the film Top Gun.

AND YOUR WORST?

Vintage cars. After I sold the Porsche, I traded up to a 1964 Ferrari 330 GT. I ploughed the whole £32,000 into it. I kept it for five years, but it was costing me too much money so I sold it for £15,000. All the money I'd made on cars, I lost on that last one. I stopped doing them after that and concentrated on bricks and mortar.

WHAT WAS YOUR BEST ANTIQUE BUY?

I suppose my best purchase is a 17th-century Charles I court cupboard made from English oak. It's absolutely stunning. I bought it for £3,000. You can never know the real value until you come to sell, but I believe it's worth around £12,000-£15,000.

My tip for anyone buying antiques is always buy something that puts a smile on your face. Choose something you can use and show off to your friends. Never buy anything restored and look for the maker's label so you can identify it properly.

We've never sold anything really fantastic on Flog It! because the owners withdraw the best items when I tell them what they're worth. We're not allowed to buy from them - it's not really ethical - but I do buy other things from auctions when we're filming.

WHAT WAS YOUR MOST INDULGENT PURCHASE?

I paid £2,300 for a purple label Ralph Lauren suit. I bought it two months ago for my wedding in September. Charlotte said I looked gorgeous in it. It's such a special occasion, it's worth it. It's my first marriage. I've found the perfect person. I saved the best to last.

HOW MANY CREDIT CARDS DO YOU HAVE IN YOUR WALLET?

None. I don't believe in them. I think they're a waste of time. They tempt people to spend what they haven't got and cause stress. I've never had one. I have got a whopping great mortgage. That's credit. I bought my house for £780,000. It was so run down, but when I finish the work it will add £300,000 to £400,000 in value.

SO DO YOU PREFER TO PAY BY CASH?

No, I prefer cheques. I love to write a cheque because I've got the goods and the seller doesn't get my money for three or four days. I do have debit cards, but I get annoyed when people don't want to take cheques.

HOW MUCH CASH DO YOU HAVE IN YOUR WALLET?

Never more than about £50. I think I have about £30 at the moment.

HOW ARE YOU SAVING FOR YOUR RETIREMENT?

I'm not, I'm just ploughing all my money into property. When I'm old and grey I'll sell the big house and buy something smaller. That's where my liquid cash will come from. But I'll never truly retire. I'll carry on trading. Antiques are the oxygen in my life. I'll never stop dealing.

WHAT IS THE BIGGEST TIP YOU'VE EVER GIVEN?

I suppose about £20 for a large meal where the bill was around £120. I like good service. I'll tip if it's right and the meal was good, but I feel we pay for it anyway because the wine is so expensive. Gordon Ramsay said never leave a tip as it's included in the mark-up on the wine.